Vermont Dairymen's Association. 71 



it is altogether a different matter to stand before a body of 

 representative men who are more able and better qualified to 

 handle this subject than I. However, as our Secretary has got- 

 ten me into this predicament, I hope you will bear with me, and 

 blame him only. 



This subject, Cream Gathering vs. Milk, has occupied so 

 prominent a place in the papers of late, it does not seem as 

 though anything new could be offered, but I hope that I may say 

 something, however slight, not heretofore brought out. Before 

 going further, I will state that I realize that anything I may say 

 in favor of the cream gathering system will not meet with much 

 favor with the Boston butter men present. In fact,, as far as -I 

 can learn, they are all (I might say to a man) opposed to the 

 system. 



But to use the words of a former President of the United 

 States during his first term of office, when the tariff seemed to 

 be attracting more attention than it seems to at the present time, 

 and, by the way, not any more than the deficit in the United 

 States Treasury, 'Tt is a condition, not a theory that confronts 

 us," and however much we may argue and work against it, the 

 fact still remains that cream gathering from hand separators has 

 come to stay. 



The farmers are very scarce, indeed, who will go back to 

 the whole milk system after they have tried the cream gather- 

 ing system, unless they live very near the creamery, or have 

 extra large dairies, and, in my section, they will not even then. 

 They simply will not deliver milk to the creamery. This, as least, 

 is my experience. 



I will not try to enumerate all the advantages and disad- 

 vantages of the system, as they were discussed so thoroughly 

 by Prof. Hills at our meeting last year. 



It is almost needless to say that the great objection the 

 farmers have to the whole milk creamery is the time spent in 

 delivering the milk, and this is a great objection, indeed, now, 

 when farm help is so scarce and wages so high. In almost a 

 majority of cases it means the loss of nearly one-half a day 

 every day delivering the milk to the creamery. They much prefer 

 to have the cream gatherer call regularly and take the cream at 

 their door. 



There have been started in my county, twenty different 

 creameries and skimming stations (mostly creameries) taking in 

 whole milk. Some of these were started by myself, and only one 

 is taking in whole milk today. All in the county are strictly 

 gathered cream, with the exception of one, and that one is taking 

 in more cream than milk. 



